Removal of dementia priority in NHS will impact quality of life say charity
It comes as a Uni of Northampton Dementia Community Centre of Excellence is set to open studying care provision at the Autumn Centre Corby.
The Alzheimer's Society says removing dementia as one of England’s healthcare priorities will lead to less people being diagnosed and receiving the help they need.
It comes as a Uni of Northampton Dementia Community Centre of Excellence is set to open studying care provision at the Autumn Centre Corby.
UON’s Dementia Research and Innovation Centre (NDRIC) is partnering with Public Health in North Northamptonshire Council for dementia awareness, support and care offering high standard, quality provision.
The Orchard Project will look to align current dementia care provision in an existing local community centre the Autumn Centre in Corby with best contemporary dementia friendly practices, as they work towards enhancing their Dementia Friendly status.
Project lead, Professor Jacqueline Parkes from the University of Northampton said: “This is a very exciting project which could provide a blueprint for a community-based pathway approach to dementia support and care, from community awareness, pre-diagnosis support, early intervention, supported care under one roof.
“The University has an established pedigree in these areas; building on our expertise in developing, delivering, and evaluating community-based interventions and support models, the team at NDRIC are delighted to be working alongside the Team at the Autumn Centre and North Northamptonshire Council, to co-design and produce the Orchard Project Model.”
Meanwhile, NHS England has previously committed to improving diagnosis and providing local accountability for 2024-25
It's published operational planning guidance for 2025/26 included the following targets.
- To continue to reduce elective care waiting times, with 65 per cent of patients waiting less than 18 weeks.
- To improve ambulance response and A&E waiting times, with a minimum of 78 per cent of patients seen within four hours.
- To improve patients’ access to general practice (GP) and urgent dental care access, including 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments.
- To accelerate patient flow in mental health crisis and outpatient care pathways.
However, there is no mention of improving the rate of diagnosis for those with dementia. Which previously appeared on the operational planning guidance for last year. The details of which include "Improve the quality of life, the effectiveness of treatment, and care for people with dementia by increasing the dementia diagnosis rate to 66.7% by March 2025."
"Dementia in is a devastating illness"
We spoke to Alzheimer's Society who said they were shocked when they saw dementia diagnosis had been removed.
Tim Baverstock is the Eastern representative from the charity he tells us this decision will lead to fewer people being diagnosed and receiving the help they need.
"Nationally there at least 250,000 people who are undiagnosed with dementia. And that's why we felt its inclusion (in the planning guidance) was so important.
"We worry that what it will mean is that locally people will no longer prioritise diagnosis of dementia if it isn't in the plans... and fewer people will get diagnosed.
"Dementia in particular is a devastating illness as we know that that can get worse as time goes on.
"But the earlier you can reach out, the more hope and more support there is for you.
"So there are treatments that are available that can help you early on in the disease, which is another reason why we want diagnosis, to be as early as possible",
Tim also made the point that the national target hasn't been met.
“This glaring omission is unacceptable and sends the message that dementia doesn’t matter. It highlights a staggering lack of focus on a devastating condition that affects nearly a million people in the UK and contradicts the UK Government’s stated ambition to improve diagnosis rates.
"To not continuing to prioritise it when we haven't reached the target in the first place will impact greatly on people. What that means for people is if they do not have a diagnosis, they're unable to seek the right support and the right treatment that they need.
"It is often a gateway for families to be able to plan for the future as well. And of course, the dignity of knowing what it is that is wrong with you and and what it is that's been troubling you.
"This is a backwards step"
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at Alzheimer’s Society also shared her thoughts with us.
“We know that early diagnosis can help reduce some of the huge costs and pressure dementia places on the NHS. "The inclusion of the 66.7% national dementia diagnosis target in the 2024/25 guidance at least showed NHS England was committed to improving diagnosis and providing vital local accountability.
"The same now cannot be said for the year to come. This is a backwards step which will alarm all those affected by dementia.
“The removal of a dementia diagnosis target makes it even more important that the forthcoming 10-Year Plan for Health delivers for dementia.
"We’re now calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to set ambitious and achievable new diagnosis rate targets in the 10-Year Plan, and for long-term investment in the tools and workforce needed to get everyone the diagnosis they deserve.”
NHS Response
Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “If everything is a priority, then nothing is. I want to empower NHS leaders to deliver the innovation and reform required to fix the NHS, rather than overload them with targets which have failed to deliver better outcomes for patients.
“This new approach will see the NHS focus on what matters most to patients – cutting waiting lists, getting seen promptly at A&E, and being able to get a GP appointment.
“We’ve provided significant extra investment and given clear directions to trusts on what we expect, so there is no excuse for failure. We will reward high performance and drive up standards as we deliver on our Plan for Change and build a health service fit for the future.”